$2M worth of malaria drugs rot in Ugandan storehouse

[AllyCat]

while people die everyday there of malaria due to "hospital shortages" of the drugs.

This is a classic "It's not my fault" interview as everyone tries to blame everyone else for the problem. You know someone didn't get their palms greased enough so they refused to give the needed meds to those who are suffering.

Sounds like they learned this from the Republican playbook on Hurricane Katrina.

---snip---

AS thousands of Ugandans die everyday of HIV/Aids and malaria, drugs worth about Shs4 billion are rotting in the National Medical Stores Entebbe.

While on their fact finding tour of NMS in Entebbe yesterday, MPs on the Social Services Committee led by James Kubeketerya (Bunya East) were shocked to find eight containers of 2- feet, full of expired drugs yet Ugandans are perishing in hospitals without treatment.


The NMS General Manager Apollo Newton Mwesigye told MPs that due to over stocking of drugs by third party programmes at NMS, ARV drugs valued at Shs900 million and other drugs worth Shs1.2 billion have already expired. Those that are about to expire are valued at Shs1.65 billion.

Third parties are programmes like Global Funds that store drugs at NMS.

Mr Mwesigye said, "Due to unique nature of NMS operations, expiry of drugs has remained a big challenge. We can only minimize these loses if NMS is given power to perform its statutory mandate of procurement, storage and distribution of drugs. We cannot do away with the expired drugs but if procurement is harmonized, we can reduce," he told MPs.

---snip---

http://allafrica.com/stories/200707110814.html

[Igel]

1. The scene from M*A*S*H comes to mind in which

Hawkeye, I believe, asked a supply sargeant for something. The supply sargeant was very clear: He had the stuff, he was in charge of the stuff, and if he gave it out he wouldn't be in charge of it any more. And since his job was being in charge of stuff ...

Fear petty bureaucrats.